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Russia's Stillborn Democracy? by Graeme J. Gill

Book Description

The decade and a half since Gorbachev came to power has been a tumultuous time for Russia. It has seen the expectations raised by perestroika dashed, the collapse of the Soviet superpower, and the emergence of a new Russian state claiming to base itself on democratic, market principles. It has seen a political system shattered by a president turning tanks against the parliament, and then that president configuring the new political structure to give himself overwhelming power. These upheavals took place against a backdrop of social dislocations as the Russian people were ravaged by the effects of economic shock therapy. This book explains how these momentous changes came about, and in particular why political elites were able to fashion the new political system largely independent of the wishes of the populace at large. It was this relationship between powerful elites and weak civil society forces which has led to Russian democracy under Yeltsin being still born.

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Books By Author Graeme J. Gill

This text provides a broad-ranging introduction to the origins, role and future of the modern state and makes its own distinct contribution to tracing out continuities and changes especially in relation to the development of state capacity.

The author assesses the main theories developed to account for and explain why and how authoritarian regimes give way to democratic ones. Taking issue with the elite-centred focus, he shows how understanding of democratization can be gained only if the role of civil society is taken into account.

This is the study of the failure of democracy in Russia after the collapse of the USSR. It traces the origins of that failure into the Soviet period, and shows how Russian political elites built a system which was more about maximizing their own power than opening the system up to popular control.

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